White House – U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

Kelly Craft

Serves as Acting Ambassador, leading the United States delegation to the United Nations and representing the United States at the Security Council and General Assembly.

Kelly Knight Craft was confirmed by the Senate as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations on July 31st, 2019. Craft comes to the UN from her post in Ottawa as the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, a role she took on in September 2017. Prior to joining the Trump Administration, Craft served in various roles as a businesswoman, philanthropist, and political donor. Ms. Craft and her husband Joe Craft, president of coal giant Alliance Resource Partners, have co-chaired various Republican campaigns together, including Matt Bevin’s bid for Governor and Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) Presidential campaign in Kentucky. At the Republican National Convention in 2012, Craft served as Assistant Convention Secretary, and in 2016, she served as a Kentucky delegate.

While she has limited experience in foreign affairs, Craft was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2007 as a U.S. alternate delegate to the United Nations, where she focused on U.S. engagement in Africa. She has also served as an executive committee member of the Republican Governors Association, the Kentucky finance chair for the RNC, and a member of the board of trustees of her alma matter, the University of Kentucky.

During her confirmation hearing, Ambassador Craft expressed support for U.S. leadership at the United Nations, saying “I believe that the United States must maintain its central leadership role at the United Nations… when the UN performs, it advances key American objectives including the promotion of peace and security.” Craft also expressed her willingness to work with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, saying she “couldn’t ask for a better teammate for reform.”